Former Utah Scout leader faces more accusations

Sep. 30, 2013
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by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

SOUTH OGDEN, Utah (AP) - Police say nine more men have made accusations against a former Boy Scout leader and science teacher in Utah charged with possessing child pornography.

The men reported 61-year-old Kenneth William Prince of Uintah took sexually explicit photos of them when they were junior high students, South Ogden Police said.

In the latest allegations, some of the men knew Prince as their Scout leader, in addition to being a teacher at the school, Lt. Dwight Ruth said Monday.

Ruth said the nine men made the accusations separately but allege Prince took photos of them as a group and convinced them it was part of an official activity. The photos were not taken on school property, officers said.

Ruth did not have further details Monday, including information about how far back the allegations date.

Investigators were still reviewing the allegations, he said, and had not yet determined if they will file additional charges.

Messages left with Prince's attorney Stephen Farr were not immediately returned Monday.

Prince was arrested last Tuesday on suspicion of possessing child porn in Weber County and was formally charged in state court on Thursday with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

He has not yet entered a plea and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Wednesday.

Detectives said they opened a case against Prince after someone came forward with decades-old allegations of abuse against Prince.

Investigators said a search of Prince's home netted sexually explicit photos of young boys.

Last Thursday, Prince was hospitalized and involuntarily committed for a mental health evaluation after he tried to commit suicide by ingesting mercury, officers said.

Investigators found him at a Logan home with a half-empty bottle of mercury and cuts to his head and wrists. Officers also found a note in the home in which Prince apologized to his family for trying to take his life.

Prince was a science teacher at South Ogden Junior High School from 1979 to 2008.

His teaching license was revoked in 2009 for a lewdness charge and violations of an agreement with a commission that oversees teacher licensing, according to officials with the Utah State Office of Education.

Prince had not been a registered Boy Scout leader since 2003. The organization took steps to ensure he could never be a Scout leader after being made aware of the "situation" by law enforcement authorities, according to the Boy Scouts' Trapper Trail Council.

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